Where is Your Hero Now?
by DargonXKS
Summary: With Artha and Beau gone, the war rages.
1. Chapter 1

-1Where is Your Hero Now?

Hundreds of dragons had gathered, their cacophonous roars and bellows echoed from the great cavern's walls. In the cool damp twilight, they anxiously shifted from foot to foot waiting. Several dragons began nipping and slashing at one another. From the small end of the grotto, the dim firelight steadily increased in its intensity, though this did little to quell the fighting.

Then, from beyond the firelight, two massive figures emerged. One might have called them twins if it were not for the distinguishing scars that graced their bodies. Both were black quadruped dragons, and when the gathered dragons took notice of them, the hall fell into silence. The massive twins were easily three to four times the size of the crowed dragons. All eyes were upon them as they took up their positions on either side of the tunnel from which they had emerged as another dragon strode into the light.

The newcomer made the two scarred guards look practically unblemished by the sheer amount of injuries on her body. The crowded dragons murmured as she surveyed them. The noise rose in volume until she let loose a startling roar. Once more there was silence. She took a deep breath, "I see many of you are here. Good." A raspy laugh burst from her mouth receiving quizzical looks from many of the other dragons, even her guards were taken aback.

"Sisters, brothers welcome! Why am I so glad you wish to ask right? Heh, today is a momentous day for dragonkind! The war goes well for us all!" The multicolored multitude burst out with triumphant bellows. The black raised her foot and the hall became silent once more. "The humans are on the retreat; our last offensive crippled the forces of the city guard. The way to the city now lies open. The city is ours once more!" Again the crowd erupted with cheers of victory. This time she let them savor their hard-earned victory before s quieting them once more.

"The fight is not over yet though. The humans still hold the city, but keep faith for our allies inside will support us. The humans may have pushed us into the wastes, but we will not back down! Let us take back the city and show the humans the error of their ways!" With the her speech concluded she lost the dragons to their cheers and departed into her section of cavern to rest. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

-1

"Shadowbayn! Wait," cried a small red bone dragon as he ran to catch up to her. He cautiously ran past the guards as she turned to greet him.

"You have news of the city?" she queried.

"No… huh… nothing, nothing new to report I'm afraid." the winded Spitphyr managed to gasp out between breaths.

"Then why run all the way here little one?" The young male obviously was disgusted by her remark but he tried not to let it show. Shadowbayn caught the grimace however and gave a little smirk. He was a fool, but a good fool. She hated having him run the courier lines, only the fastest red dragons could make it out of such work alive, and he only had half of the qualifications.

"You…you said you would tell me, about how my parent died."

"You're asking me this now young one!" She let loose a loud sigh. "I said I would tell you, but not now… I have to prepare, it is not going to be easy to get back into the city. We have all lost someone important to us, be they a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, _even a rider_."

"You...You had a rider? But..!"

"This war is not simply dragon against humans and that all humans must die! NO! I will not have you believe such nonsense!"

"Then what are we fighting for Shadowbayn! Surely the humans…"

"I SAID NO!" With this violent retort even the guards stared at Shadowbayn in disbelief. She looked at the concerned faces around her and resolved to calm down before she resumed. "This war, regardless of what the others might tell you, is one huge misunderstanding. We are as much in error as the humans. BOTH sides are to blame. Now do not get me wrong, this war is not for nothing! We are fighting for the rights we truly deserve as the sentient beings we are. Rights that even the kindest of humans have been ignoring.

Humans have controlled us for all of our lives till now. From our very birth till our eventual death humans control nearly every aspect of our lives. Humans have bred us to serve their purposes. Yet do we get a say, often times no. This is not just a result of our inability to communicate however. We have let ourselves fall into this mess. It is just as much the humans fault as it is ours…"

"Then why do your speeches seem to preach that the we have to fight the humans to their ultimate death? Why do _you_ fight at all?" Shadowbayn cast an angry eye of the youngster, he was bold considering all that he had been through.

"You didn't listen to me did you? Do not forget that we are not the only group of dragons fighting in this war. Some still serve the humans, others wish to dominate the humans as they once dominated the dragons. We… we fight for what we believe to be right. We fight for freedom, understanding, and the rights we so obviously deserve."


	3. Chapter 3

-1Dragon City was burning. The acrid smoke rose throughout the lower levels, often obscuring view and also rendering a dragon's sense of smell useless. If ever sunlight reached Mid-City before it most certainly did not now. Ruined structures and broken sections of track scattered with the occasion pile of debris made movement nearly impossible.

The normal hustle and bustle of dragon city had been reduced to the distance rumbling of unseen fighting. The air grew chill as a light rain began to fall, but try as it might the rain could not wash away the thickset stains of war. Nor could it quell the mighty fires that raged still, even the monolithic citadel of Word Paynn had not escaped the devastation.

A sudden blur of red appeared as a dragon and rider carefully navigated the fallen remains of a once proud manor that now littered the street. The quick but cautious footsteps of the bipedal dragon covered ground in no time. They stopped when they reached a clearing in the road, casting wary glances in all directions alert to any possible danger. With assurances from both dragon and rider they sped off toward their destination.

They came to a halt in front of a ruined structure that looked no different from any of the others, and with some unseen cue they entered. The interior overflowed with the same dust and debris that lay all around. The pair continued onward into the growing darkness. Furniture lay cast about and broken shards of glass were everywhere.

At last they stopped in front of the boarded up remnants of a wall. The rider dismounted slowly so as not to make a sound. The helmeted figure place gloved hands on the uneven surface, steadily searching for something. When fingers grasped an insignificant looking piece of wire, and the figure pulled, a door opened.

"Finally." the muffled figure said while removing her helmet and the protective mask that kept the soot and smoke from reaching her lungs. Her dragon cast a watchful glance at her rider as the two of them relaxed while the makeshift airlock cycled. She slumped against the metallic wall and slowly slid to the floor, her arms at her sides. She closed her eyes for a brief second when she heard two knocks on the door followed by the clangs of the door mechanism opening.

"You're back!"

"What? You say that like I wasn't going to come back." Seeing the concerned look on the girl's face she quickly reconsidered what she said. "Uh… never mind." It then struck her what she said and she silently cursed herself under her breath. Over her shoulder Wyldfyr shot her rider another concerned look. Kitt reached up and rubbed the dragon's face, and they both took comfort in the fact that they were indeed back.


	4. Chapter 4

-1"So how was it?" Tem asked Kitt and in turn she received only a sigh and a stare. "Yeah, right… never mind." Tem hurriedly unloaded the sensitive gear from atop Wyldfyr's back, careful to make sure nothing went wrong like the last time. Thankfully the gear was in full working order, and if Tem assumed correctly, had acquired something of fairly vital importance.

Kitt tended to Wyldfyr as Tem set to work downloading the data from the gear. Tem kept looking longingly at Wyldfyr, willing dragons were not easy to come by any more. Upon noticing Kitt looking in her direction, Tem quickly got back to work. She envied Kitt, but doubted she had the bravery to undertake the kind of missions Kitt had been running lately.

Silence grew as the two toiled and then Tem could stand it no longer. "Come on Kitt, how was it really?"

Kitt, now brushing Wyldfyr, smiled and took the pack off of Wyldfyr's saddle. She reached inside and procured black draconian wraith gear. "I guess it wasn't too bad. I managed to do my job and snag this too. That wraith dragon didn't even know what hit it!" Kitt finished with a smile, and Wyldfyr smiled along with her.

"Another one for the collection eh?" Tem queried.

"Yeah, I'm sure the Professor can do something with them."

"Where is Parm anyway?"

"Oh, he's probably off tinkering with something."

"What about Lance?"

At the mention of Lance's name Kitt stopped and stared at the floor. "I haven't seen him either, but then with Artha missing Lance is always off trying to find him."

"What happened to Artha anyway? It's been a over a year, and the Dragon Booster is gone too! If only the Dragon Booster were here we could end this damn war!" Tem uttered, her face flushed red in her anger.

"I don't know Tem, he's been gone so long ,well… most of us have just accepted the idea that he's… dead, and that the Dragon Booster is too. Lance won't believe any of it though, I wish I could say the same."

Tem did not bother to press Kitt for any more information when she stopped. They both took advantage of the silence and got back to work. Wyldfyr nuzzled Kitt as she went back to her brushing. Both were so engrossed with their activities that they hardly took notice of a newcomer to their little sanctuary. Only when Wyldfyr looked at the door did they notice Parm was back.

"Ah Kitt, you're back." he said. Tem handed him the recoding gear and he checked out the data before speaking once more. "I heard that you have acquired more Wraith gear?" Kitt then offered to hand Parm the gear when he took out some Wraith gear of his own.

"What's that?" Kitt asked noticing the subtle differences in the gear.

"This is my modified Wraith gear. I finally managed to deactivate the mind control properties of the gear without affecting the performance of the cloaking field. In fact I ever managed to increase the efficiency of the gear by fifty percent. The gear still needs to be tested of course" He then handed Kitt the gear when Tem spoke.

"Looks like your orders are in Kitt." she said as she transferred the data to Kitt's wrist comm. Kitt quickly surveyed the orders and then leaned back against Wyldfyr. "Looks like I'm going to have to test your gear now Professor."

"What, where are you going?"

"There is a large group of black dragons headed our way, and I have to see if I can find out where they're going to strike next." Kitt hurriedly collected her gear and mounted Wyldfyr as she spoke. She turned Wyldfyr towards the door and put on her mask, double checking Wyldfyr's energy reserves while she waited for Tem to open the doors. The door opened with it's usual bang as Parm yelled to her.

"Good luck Kitt!" Kitt quickly waved to Tem and Parm and then shot off into the crumbled heart of Dragon City.


	5. Chapter 5

-1Death is life, life is death. One look around the haggard masses that made up Shadowbayn's forces served to make this all the more clear. Though on the whole the group persevered, the agony of a few sent chill cries to remind all of them of what might come. Fortunately many of them could be saved, though the healers were few they made out surprisingly good.

What families remained were often separated through death or the division caused by joining differing factions. Several hatchlings that the pack had managed to save were now orphans, but accepting parents took them in. Still, the grief was all to visible in their eyes.

Shadowbayn reclined on her haunches on a small bluff overlooking her pack's settlement. She vigilantly scrutinized all those before her. Slightly behind her and two either side, her omnipresent guards also sat waiting. Shadowbayn stared out into the dismal grey that made up the wastes and thought to her self, _This is no place for us to be living. _She thought also of the hunting parties that had just returned, the measly scraps they had managed to carry from Dragon City and the few prey they had managed to capture would not be enough. Her resolve grew strengthened by what she saw. Dragon City was truly an oasis in this vast desert, and she almost wished there was another city to be found so that her pack could avoid the war entirely.

_I dream too much I fear._

A change in the wind caught Rayg and Steel's attention, the smoke and ash from the city had turned their way. "Shadowbayn?"

"Yes I smell it, it's as if the city is smoking us out and calling us to return and fix the problem. We will have to prepare soon, the smoke will make excellent cover."

"Agreed." The two black boned guards said in unison. With their leader's unspoken command they ran off to prepare all the dragons to depart. Spitphyr crept over to Shadowbayn when the two had left in a blur of blue and brown. The two dragons stared at each other for a long while before looking down once again as every last dragon was readied.

"Will it be enough this time?" the red questioned.

"I cannot tell now, there are too many variables, and getting into the city is the easy part. We will take the ancient tunnels through the city."

"Are you sure that's the safest route, what about hydrags and the Muhorta?"

Without hesitation she responded, "Believe it or not that is the safest way. I have thought long and hard over this and can find no safer alternative. If we were to be discovered prematurely by anyone all or hope would be lost."

"So we are heading into the city only to bide some more time before we attack? We should strike as soon as we breach the city!"

"No, no though I hate to admit it we are far to weak to sustain such an attack much less make it successful. We have waited more than a year, a little more should not be too difficult."

"As you say Shadowbayn." Spitphyr said, his hot blood demanded action, but yet again he would be denied. He trusted Shadowbayn with his life, if this was her judgment then so be it.

Shadowbayn managed to catch up with Rayg and Steel as they began to lead the pack outward. She quickly listened to their accounts before running off to help gather the sick and wounded. Spitphyr also ran amongst the departing masses making sure that no one was left behind save the dead, he could do nothing for them now.

The pack moved toward the city as Shadowbayn stopped to glance behind her, several dragons walked around her till she was left alone at the back of the pack. She took in one long last look at what had been their temporary home, and despite the horrible condition it was in she could not help but feel a little sorry for having left it. The roars of Rayg and Steel caught her attention and she finally turned tail and left. The city was their true home not matter how horrible it too had become.

Three hundred and forty two dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colors trudged toward the distant city, a truly amazing sight to behold. As their confidence and desire grew their speed increased until the masses were all moving full gallop. Ancient ruins began appearing as they closed in and the smoke grew thick. A few final bounds and they disappeared into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

-1Wyldfyr darted through the shadowy streets, careful to follow Kitt's slightest command as they made their way toward their objective. Luckily Wyldfyr was quite familiar with the route and used this knowledge to her advantage to remain undetected. The streets were still eerily empty, no Wraiths or anyone else for that matter were pursuing them. Wyldfyr, though thankful for the reprieve, worried it meant far worse to come in the near future.

Kitt too felt unease at the lack of any sign of the war. The more she thought about it the more it seemed like a trap. Feeling the need to ease the tension, she decided to test out the new gear. Kitt flipped open the cover and then pressed the switch to activate the gear. Hesitantly at first the gear unexpectedly jerked into operation and as it did so Wyldfyr let loose a soft growl. Kitt feared the mind control had not been entirely disabled when the invisibility field took effect.

Well it worked so far. Kitt and Wyldfyr decided not to put too much faith in the gear and abruptly shut it off. Their route took them deeper and down into the depths of Dragon City. They would be in the most ancient part of the city before too long. _Typical_, Kitt thought, _all the nasty stuff tends to be down there_. Kitt checked the coordinates again giving her dragon a reassuring pat on the neck.

"Looks like we're almost there girl."

There was a strange scent on the air. The stench of the city had disappeared but something… worse had taken it's place. Wyldfyr inhaled deeply her senses readjusting to the cleaner air. It took awhile before she could smell clearly, but then she knew what she smelled. Wyldfyr skidded to a halt.

"What is it girl?"

They both stared straight ahead in disbelief. Ahead of them stood two massive blue and tan dragons, black draconium dragons. From their maws dripped the bloody remnants of their meal. They licked their lips and looked intently at Kitt and Wyldfyr. Kitt made no move and so Wyldfyr took it upon herself and bolted in the other direction. Her legs pumping with all their strength. Behind them the two goliaths let loose one unified, terrifying roar.


	7. Chapter 7

-1"What was that?" Spitphyr asked Shadowbayn with a whimper. Shadowbayn took no time to answer and ran straight to the source of the sound. She rushed through the debris of many ages past before finally reaching Rayg and Steel.

"Are you two trying to give us away! What were you doing!"

"Sorry Shadow." They answered as one. "There was a human here and we made sure that she left." the two laughed remembering the look on the humans face.

"Ugh, you fools… was it just one human?

"And her pathetic dragon."

"Did they know we were here? If that was a scout from the city they must know were coming!"

"I do not think so.' Rayg said softly. Steel looked at his brother uncomfortably as he spoke. Rayg however continued. "Their reactions were far too surprised. If they knew we were here they would have expected us. They wouldn't have dared to come so close."

"Perhaps, but we should be more careful. After all they know where we are now so get moving!" Shadowbayn shouted with a emphasizing roar.


	8. Chapter 8

-1Wyldfyr ran on blindly until she noticed that the two behemoths were not after her and Kitt. She slowed allowing Kitt to check their coordinates. They both knew that those were not the dragons they were after, but such is the unpredictability of war. Their presence still worried her, had the black dragons gained more allies? Luckily or not their unscheduled detour took them close to their objective. Kitt decided to take no further chances and activated the Wraith gear.

Ahead of them lay the crumbling ruin of some ancient structure. All around the ground was littered with broken statues of dragons and humans, thought the humans were noticeably more damaged. While searching for an entrance Kitt noticed several large dragon tracks leading toward a crumbling green wall. She urged Wyldfyr to follow them and found the entrance.

They slowly made their way through until they reached a cavernous area with several tiers surrounding an courtyard several stories tall. As they approached a column near the edge of their level more roars me their ears. Looking down they saw an area large enough for more than a hundred dragons below, and to one side of the room she spotted eight dragons.

The dragons grew silent when more emerged from the shadows. Kitt held up her Binocs to get a clearer view. She saw Prophets! All the black dragons turned to face the new arrivals as Propheci lead several orange dragons into view. They began to speak but Kitt could not understand a word of it. Wyldfyr, on the other hand, heard it all.

"_Welcome…friend…" _hissed the most terrible of the eight. "_I trust everything goes well_?"

"_Yes_." Propheci replied sharply. Indignation showed on his face. "_I bring new allies as well." _he grumbled but this time with more pleasure than distaste.

"_Good… our time draws near. Our forces are almost once again at their former strength, and with our new… allies," _he said gesturing at Propheci and his fellow prophets but not speaking directly to them_, "we shall once again have what should have been ours so long ago." _The other seven dragons nodded in agreement, smiles growing large on their shadowed faces. "_Those fool humans will finally pay!"_

_"This, my _friend, _we both agree on." _Propheci stated.

"_And to believe that the humans started the war this time! Our job was already half way done before we were even set loose! Still, it's best nor to underestimate the humans, especially the Dragon Priests. Perhaps we should remove them once and for all." _The leader said.

Another of the eight responded, "_Yes, without the Gold Star dragon to protect them, they will be easy prey." _

_"But we still have no proof that the Gold Star dragon is dead! I will not risk such an attack until I have his and his booster's heads staked on the highest point of the city!" _The leader shouted_. "I will not underestimate them_ _as I did before!" _He decided it best that Propheci and the other orange dragons were sent away and so dismissed the and continued.

While the eight continued arguing Propheci and three other Prophets stalked off into the ruins. The eight had finished their arguments and retreated deeper into the darkness. Kitt considered following the eight dragons until several guards blocked their corridor. She reconsidered and instead urged Wyldfyr to follow the Prophets.

Wyldfyr leapt down, her landing raising a small cloud of dust on the buildings floor. Wyldfyr took several steps forward before noticing the footprints she left in the dust. The wraith gear could only disguise so much. She carefully lowered her tail and brushed the footprints away as she crept after the orange dragons much to Kitt's approval. Thankfully the dust gave way to stone after several strides and they both crept onward. The light was dim, the air stale as they continued through the corridors. Kitt worried they might have trouble finding their way back if they went any deeper.

Propheci stopped. He looked back, past the other prophets into the shadows. Kitt worried the gear might be malfunctioning but her readout said everything was working at normal capacity. His lips curved and he gave a snarl before abruptly continuing on.

"_What is it Propheci?" _Asked one of the Prophets.

He gave a growl and then spoke, "_I 'm begging to reconsider our arrangement."_

_"You only say that because you aren't calling the shots."_

_"SILENCE!" _he roared, then he regained his composure and continued. "_YOU still fall under my command. Besides, I shall do as they ask so long as it suits our needs."_

_"We have company." _the other Prophet said while gesturing behind them with a toss of her head. Wyldfyr feared she had somehow been detected. Kitt noticed Wyldfyr's agitation and observed all of the Prophets were now staring at them. She fought with panic when she heard the pounding of dragon footfalls behind her. Wyldfyr dodged right, hugging the wall as a black dragon ran past and met up the Prophets.

"_What is it?" _Propheci demanded as the temple shuddered under some impact scattering a sprinkling of dust to fall from the ceiling. "_Are we under attack!"_

_"No, but we soon will be. Something caught the attention of the city guard. Their shoring up what little defense they have left." _the black explained. He turned to go back the way he came when again he spoke. "_Do you smell something?" _he lifted his nose high in the air and inhaled deeply, his eyes darting to look in all the dark recesses when it hit him._ "There's a human here!"_

Wyldfyr let loose a low growl and all eyes were upon her, at least more or less so. The other dragons hissed and growled, lowering there bodies in preparation. They all shot mag blasts in random directions, and as luck would have it, Wyldfyr was struck and the wraith gear overloaded. They were exposed.


	9. Chapter 9

-1"_YOU!" _Propheci roared at Wyldfyr and Kitt then he reared back and barreled after them. Wyldfyr jumped, narrowly avoiding Propheci as another Prophet bolted toward them. This one fired a mag bolt and sent Wyldfyr and Kitt sliding across the floor as the other two dragons came flying through. Something was different, the two other dragons landed on their backs with the crunch of bone on stone. Wyldfyr barely managed to get up and out of the way as one dragon, then another bolted down the corridor.

Kitt, fearing reinforcements had come realized that these dragons were of all different bone colors as several more darted past. Dust rose from the floor, obscuring vision and the walls shook more savagely than before. When they had an opening Kitt and Wyldfyr ran for it. Several large stones fell from the ceiling as Wyldfyr ducked and weaved through the tangled mass of dragons and stone.

Something grabbed Wyldfyr's tail and she was forced to the ground. She turned to look and saw that Propheci had sunk his jaws into her tail, and this brought to her the realization of pain. Kitt activated her Red Thruster Gear, the exhaust seared Prophecy's face, forcing him to release. He would not give up so easily however as the two Prophets rejoined him.


End file.
